Passivation and depassivation of reinforcement steel in alkali-activated materials—A review

This paper reviews the formation and breakdown of passive film on the surface of reinforcement steel in alkali-activated materials (AAMs) considering the characteristics of reaction product and pore solution chemistry. The literature review shows that the pore solution of AAMs has higher concentrations of OH−, Na+, silica and aluminium compared to Portland cement (PC). This relatively high alkalinity contributes to the generation of a passive film, which has positive effects on the corrosion resistance of reinforcement steel embedded in AAMs. The silica-aluminium zeolite layer present on the surface of passive film adsorbs chloride ions and effectively inhibits chloride-induced depassivation. Generally, lower ratios of [Cl−]/[SO42−] and [Cl−]/[S2O32−] potentially inhibit the depassivation of reinforcement steel. The high pH value and the elevated concentrations of HS− of AAMs contribute to the increase of critical chloride content (Ccrit). However, the higher content of reduced sulfide mainly dissolved from slag results in the consumption of dissolved oxygen, which is necessary for the formation of passive film. Generally, the presence of reduced sulfide forms Fe-S complexes on the surface of reinforcement steel in AAMs. Even so, higher corrosion resistance for AAMs is mostly expected with longer depassivation time due to finer microstructure and lower chloride penetration rates compared to PC-based materials. The decrease in pH value in the pore solution of the AAMs is the main factor affecting carbonation-induced depassivation of reinforcement steel, while high concentrations of bicarbonate and carbonate ions inhibit depassivation. •Fe-S complexes forms on the reinforcement steel in simulated pore solution of alkali-activated slag.•The higher content of slag in alkali-activated materials delays the formation of passive film.•High pH value of alkali-activated materials increases the chloride threshold value.